Here's a portion of an article from the New York Times ...Vikas BajajThe New York TimesThursday, April 27, 2006As the first quarter of 2006 ends, economists are generally upbeat about both the economy and the housing market.''Neither the economy, nor the housing market has gone flat,'' says Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist for the PNC Financial Services Group. ''But it will continue to deflate a little bit.''The market was weaker when compared with a year ago. The home selling rate in March was down from a pace of 1.31 million in March 2005, while the median price slipped 2.2 percent from a year ago, to $224,200.And the number of unsold homes on the market has grown, rising by 24.4 percent over the last 12 months, to 555,000. At the current sales pace it would take five and a half months to sell those properties, up from 4.2 months a year ago.The jump in inventories was the biggest in 33 years, and the drop in prices the steepest since January 2003, says Ian C. Shepherdson, chief United States economist at High Frequency Economics.Sales ''are going to drop in the next couple of months,'' he said, noting that mortgage applications, an early indicator for the housing market, have fallen 22 percent in 12 months.Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula
